As internet traffic has increased over the years, new technologies are needed to deliver broadband access to homes and enterprises at lower cost and to places that are not yet covered. Current broadband access systems have a number of shortcomings. One issue is a lack of service in remote, lightly populated, and underdeveloped areas. Geo-stationary satellites do provide service in remote areas of the developed world, such as within the United States. Poorer areas of the world, such as Africa, however, lack adequate satellite capacity.
A notable reason satellite capacity has not been adequately provided in poor regions of the world is the relatively high cost of satellite systems. Due to adverse atmospheric effects in satellite orbits, satellite hardware must be space qualified and is costly. Launch vehicles to put the satellites in orbit are also costly. Moreover, due to the launch risk and high cost of satellites, there is a significant cost to insure the satellite and the launch. Therefore, broadband satellite systems and services are relatively costly and difficult to justify in poor regions of the world. It is also costly to deploy terrestrial systems such as fiber or microwave links in lightly populated regions. The small density of subscribers does not justify the deployment cost.
Thus, there is a need for an efficient way to provide broadband service to poor, lightly populated, and underdeveloped regions using aerial platforms.